The Strange Case Of Weiss Schnee
by Madcinder
Summary: Weiss Schnee has a problem. Her problem: Her father has been secretly funding the terrorist group known as the White Fang for years. Now, with her team, friends, and allies, Weiss goes to confront the man she once called Father. But this isn't a kids' game anymore. People die here. Weiss POV. Sequel to The Strange Case Of Blake Belladonna.
1. In The Beginning

"Weiss."

Trying to ignore your partner is pretty hard, don't you think?

"Weiss."

Especially when they're someone like Ruby.

"Weiss. Weiss. Weiss."

It doesn't help that we're in class and I'm trying to listen to Professor Port's lecture.

"Weiss!"

I don't understand how he hasn't kicked her out of the class yet.

"WeissWeissWeissWeissWeiss."

Seriously, kick her out already. I'll do all her work for the class. Just let me pay attention. I probably know all this stuff already anyway.

"Weiss, stop ignoring me."

I slowly turned to look at her, and was about to open my mouth to shush her when a certain moustachioed teacher cleared his throat.

"Miss Rose, am I boring you?"

Ruby shook her head, turning red in shame. She silenced, and he went back to his lecture. If I'm lucky, she'll leave me alone for the rest of the class. Then all I'll have to worry about is-

"Hey, Weiss."

Yang.

I wonder if Blake ever gets this annoyed at her partner.

* * *

Pyrrha and Ren are great. They're model students and amazing fighters. I don't have a problem with Nora, really. She's just a bit too eccentric at times. Other than that, Nora is easily Pyrrha and Ren's equal. Jaune... he's nice, but I hardly know what to do when I'm stuck talking to him. It gets really bad when Ruby teases me by telling me that that means I have a crush on him. That's not what it means... is it?

Well, anyway, the four of them are team JNPR, and they collectively have one great purpose. They distract my teammates so that I can slip out at lunchtime. I have someone to meet with, and I don't want anyone getting in the way. A few minutes later, in a different part of Beacon, I find myself at my destination. I quietly open the door, hoping I'm not disturbing my friend.

The lights are off, and I see a pair of yellow eyes watching me from the back. "So... you've come to finish it."

Flicking the lights on, I nod. "Yes." I move over to her bedside and reach into my bag. "It's time to finish it." Out of my bag I produce a book.

Blake smiles. "The last volume."

Shrugging, I sit down on the edge of her bed. "Well, the last one in print. They might make more, but if Tomoko hasn't succeeded yet we might as well give up on her."

She shakes her head. "I'll never give up on someone. Not even someone in a manga."

That's so sweet of you, really. "Well, let's read and find out." I opened the book and the two of us started reading.

She turns the pages when she's done. She doesn't have to wait for me, because I'm faster. It's not that she reads slower, it's just that Blake spends more time soaking up information and looking back over the whole page. I use that time to watch her while she's reading. It's weird. Blake doesn't laugh at the girl we're reading about, even when her constant failures are blatantly intended to be humorous. Instead, Blake shows concern. The girl is just a fictional character, yet Blake feels so bad for her.

"I don't understand you."

She beams up at me briefly, quickly going back to the manga in our hands. "What don't you understand, Weiss?"

I hadn't actually meant to say that out loud, so now I have to come up with some sort of answer. "You... were so worried about us finding out that you're a Faunus, but as soon as I found out you suddenly stopped wearing your bow altogether. Now everyone knows, and you seem a lot happier."

She sighs, turning the page. "It's never easy hiding who you are. It always hurts at least a little. When I realized that, when Ruby and Nora found out that I'm a Faunus, I realized I was happier when I didn't have to... lie to my friends."

I give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder with my free hand. "Well, you don't have to hide any more. We're all here beside you."

She smiles again, and I honestly think she has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. "I know."

"I know you know."

"I know you know I know."

"That was childish."

She lets go of the book and stretches. "I know."

I sigh, and she gives me a questioning look. I laugh a little before answering what I know she's silently asking. "You're just so cute when you're being difficult."

Blake just blinks at me a few times. "Cute? Weiss, I'm not cute." She flicks her hair. "I'm adorable."

I wave the book in the air. "So are we finishing this? I'll have to go to class soon."

She sits up and takes hold of the book, flipping to the next page when she's ready. A few pages later, she speaks again. "The doctors say I should be able to get out of bed in a week. It might be a month before I'm active again."

Keeping my eyes on the manga, I answer her. "Too bad, though. It would have been nice if we had the whole team for our... upcoming adventure."

She puts her hand in between the pages, stopping me from reading. "No, you're not going without me. You can't."

"Sorry, but-"

"But nothing! After everything I went through, there is no way I'm letting you go without me! You can't just leave me behind!"

"Blake, look, it's time-sensitive. We can't just wait until you're ready."

Groaning and laying back, Blake turns and stares at the wall. "...I know. I'm sorry, I just feel so useless in here."

I look down at the other end of the bed. "How's your leg, then?"

Sitting up again, she pulls the thin blanket to the side. "All the nerve endings and everything is connected properly. The prosthetic is indistinguishable from the real thing, and I can move it and feel perfectly. Maybe actually better than before. But... I can feel that it's fake. It feels out of place. That's why I'm having difficulty adjusting. My body tells me that I don't have that leg anymore."

It really does look like she has a normal leg there, but I get what she means. I feel bad for her. After a few moments, I just pat her on the shoulder again. "You'll figure it out. Come on, then. Let's finish this. We've got ten minutes left before classes start again."

We got pretty far, but we never did finish that last volume before our time was up. As I stood in the door, about to leave, she called me. I turned and smiled briefly. She offered a sad smile, the smile of someone who is losing a battle to loneliness.

"Thanks for visiting me so much."

I have visited her every day since we collectively found out about the connection between the White Fang and the Schnee Dust Company. I wish I could be here more often, but we are students. We have classes to attend. I have two other teammates to watch out for. She knows this as well as I do.

Blake just keeps smiling her sad smile. "Ruby hasn't shown up in a week, and it's been even longer since I last saw Yang. Other than you... Jaune showed up yesterday, after, I think, two weeks. I haven't seen Pyrrha or Ren in a month. Of course, Nora shows up sporadically. You... you just keep coming back."

I give her a slight nod. "I'll always keep coming back. You don't have to worry."

I leave, closing the door behind me. I'll be back tomorrow. I always keep coming back. And of course Jaune was the last person she'd seen. He's too nice to stay away. He probably felt really bad when he remembered that he hadn't gone to see her in so long. I told you Jaune was nice.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So... what is this? Well, it appears to be the sequel to The Strange Case Of Blake Belladonna. If you don't know what that is, go find it. This one starts on a premise set up by the other one. It's important.**


	2. Embarking

The Vytal Cultural Festival is coming up. People from literally around the world come to Vytal, and more specifically Vale, to celebrate the cultures of the world together as one big happy family. The amount of planning that goes into the event is simply breathtaking. Everyone is excited for the festival, preparing in every way imaginable. Everyone except for five teams in Beacon.

That's us. It was supposed to be just RWBY and JNPR, minus our unfortunate friend Blake who needs to focus on recuperating from her last adventure. There was a slip, on my part actually. I told Jaune. That boy is infuriating with his inability to keep a secret. I'm just fortunate he didn't tell our enemies. At least, I think he didn't. He wouldn't... would he? Maybe I'm over-thinking it.

But it's no secret that Cardin has been acting sort of oddly buddy-buddy with Jaune lately. As a result, he found out. Cardin apparently decided he wanted to bring his team into the plan because, you know, White Fang are the bad guys. Once we got over that bump, and they were accepted into the circle, I explained that our enemies were more than just the White Fang. We were also going up against the Schnee Dust Company, practically a corporate empire.

Three teams was fine, all told. It bolstered our numbers, and as collateral damage, Jaune's clumsiness could have caused much worse. But I made another small blunder. I told Nora. That girl is insane, but in the end I think she may have made the right decision. She told the three remaining members of Velvet's team. They had wondered about Velvet's disappearance, as she never said goodbye. So they were on board. That was fine too.

Here's where the rule of three comes in. I told Pyrrha, too. And once she had the full picture, she decided it was best to play the bleeding heart. During Blake's little adventure, which Nora, Ruby, and Velvet took part in, they briefly met a fully fledged Huntress. The Huntress died, and her body was never recovered, and it was never reported. She is listed as missing in action. As soon as Pyrrha learned that the deceased Huntress' little brother was in the same year as us, she determined to tell him what happened.

So now we have five teams in on the worst idea any of us have ever had, minus the injured Blake and missing Velvet. Although, taking on the White Fang, we might get lucky and run into Velvet and Blake's friend Adam Taurus before they get themselves killed trying to take down this whole heap of villainous ne'er-do-wells. So long as nobody else tells anybody else, we should be safe from anyone who would try to stop us finding out about the plan.

Classes ended about half a week before the festival started. My father was never one for that sort of thing, and as I had expected he was not going to be participating. I called home and let him know that I was not going to be taking part either, but would instead be coming home. He was going to send a private ship to come get me, which is exactly what I had hoped for. He's a busy man, so he won't be on that ship when it arrives. That said, we still have a problem when the ship gets here. I think I can hold it together, but we won't know until it happens.

The eighteen of us now stand at the end of the pier, waiting for the airship. I can see it in the distance, or at least what I assume is it. Ruby's standing right beside me, cape blowing in the wind like a fearless leader. Logistically and tactically, I'm in charge of this mission, but when it comes to combat I take orders from her. We're over that. On the other hand, it took some convincing to get the rest of them to let me take charge of the mission.

"You all look like the main cast of an anime, standing around at the edge of a cliff and staring off at the horizon."

Wait, how did she get here? I turned around and, sure enough, Blake had made her way out to the end of the pier. Everyone else turned around at about the same time as me, and most of them were now reacting with various forms of surprise. I did tell her what was going on, and I probably should have expected some form of plan from her that ended with her coming along, but there is one thing I could not have foreseen.

Blake is seated, still unable to figure out that replacement leg. She's in a wheelchair, and standing behind the wheelchair is the woman who pushed her out here. I don't know this woman, but she looks an awful lot like Blake. She's just... older. Maybe it's that sister she told us about... no, Blake said she had a younger sister. So this must be...

Blake glanced back at the woman, both grinning. Their matching black ears wiggled cutely- stop it, Weiss! Blake looked back at us and pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "You pricks were gonna leave without me, so I called her a couple days ago. This is my mom."

Blake's mom gave a slight bow. "You can just call me Krista."

And suddenly, we're all silent. Nobody knew what to say next, and I was not sure how to break it to Blake that I still didn't want her risking herself by tagging along. Thankfully, we apparently have an official icebreaker...

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ren covered Nora's mouth with his hand, giving an apologetic look to pretty much everyone.

Krista, I guess, gave the lot of us a sweet smile just as the sound of the airship's engine became audible. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to come as well."

Stepping forward, I shake my head. "I can't say for sure that we can make that work. We're talking about my father's company here. There will likely be guards on the ship, and I thought it was going to be hard to get all of us on when there were only Humans going on the mission. Two Faunus make chances that much slimmer."

Of course, like a bunch of idiots, we were completely distracted from the airship landing behind us. So distracted we were, that I had only just remembered how close it had gotten when the doors opened. No time left for arguing, everyone shut up and let me handle the next part. A single man walked out and looked down at me. He glanced warily at everyone gathered, then looked back to me.

"Miss?"

I just nodded at him. "Oliver?" Let me explain. He's in charge of security at the Schnee estate, and his name is Oliver Sparky. Don't ask why his last name is Sparky. Just don't. I have always trusted him with my life, and I hope I still can in the troubled times just ahead of us.

He just stared at me from behind his cool black shades, his short dark yellowish-green hair going out of shape in the wind. "Are these people here to see you off?"

This is the moment of truth. "Actually, these people are coming with us. We have enough room on-board, right?"

He took a deep breath, but as long as he doesn't see the harm in it he won't refuse me. I just hope he doesn't see the harm in it. "We certainly have enough room, but... I'm not sure your father would approve-"

Approve? Like I care. "He doesn't have to approve. Actually, he doesn't have to know. I'm sure there are enough guest rooms for them all."

"Yes, but I don't think your father would approve of all the boys."

From somewhere behind me, Yang giggled. She was abruptly cut off by someone, I presume Ruby, doing something that sounded like elbowing her in the stomach. Trying my best to ignore the sisters, I address his concern. "Hence the guest rooms. Don't tell me you've gone senile in my absence."

He lifted his shades up so he could get a good look at everyone. His eyes eventually landed on Blake and her mother. After a potentially precarious moment, he dropped his shades back into place. "So none of you are going to stay for the festival. You all look like you're ready for the tournament." He didn't look back at me. "What are you up to, Weiss?"

Crumb.

Krista called over to me, making me uncharacteristically jump in surprise. "Old Sparky can help. He's one of the good ones. You can tell him."

How the heck would she know? Does she... what... I think I missed something important. Whatever, fine, okay, I'll tell Spar- ...Oliver, but only once we're all on the ship. "Okay, I'll explain, but you have to let us on-board first."

He shook his head. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Notes: We're on our way now, with a large cast setting out to take on a mission. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you Krista Belladonna and Oliver Sparky. Krista is simply Blake's mom, although she appears to know Oliver somehow. Oliver Sparky is... an OC I made years ago for Red VS Blue, actually. He's finally found use here, and as a result will be added to the people that might show up in my other works.**

**Also, I want Blake's father's name to be Joey. Anyone think that'll work?**


	3. Brace Yourself

Stepping off the airship, everyone stopped for a moment. You'd think, by their faces, that none of them had ever seen a lawn. Or maybe it was the house at the other end of the lawn. I don't know, really. It's all really routine for me. Oddly, somewhat counterintuitively, Jaune was the least affected. He quickly started off down the path to the front door. After him, everyone else started off one by one.

Soon, only three of us were left standing around at the gate. Blake doesn't count, she wasn't standing. Krista walked past me, rolling her daughter along slowly. She gave me a smile. "It's nice to be back, for what it's worth."

Blake waved at me as they passed. "Don't worry about me, Weiss. I won't get in the way."

While it's great that Blake won't be getting in the way, that's not why I didn't want her coming along. More importantly, what did Krista mean about being back? Was she here before? ...Wait, I have someone who can answer a question like that. "Oliver, I need to ask you a question."

He stood behind me, probably watching everyone else very carefully as they headed for the house. "I think I might have a question or two for you as well, Weiss."

I turned around to face him. Whether he was watching the others or not, he was looking right at me now. I was not about to waste time on this, so I asked him right off. "What do you know about Krista?"

He sighed and relaxed his stance. "She used to work for your grandfather, and I worked with her a lot. That was for about five years, ending about a year before you were born. She was laid off by your father, being a Faunus, and she pretty much disappeared after that."

Turning back towards the house, I watched Krista as she continued on with Blake. "So... she might have some ill will towards my father?"

"She's a Faunus. She probably harbors ill will towards the entire company." I could hear him adjust how he was standing, and then he asked me a question. "What are you really doing here, Weiss?"

"First, can we trust her?"

"Well, that depends on what you're doing, doesn't it, Weiss?" I get that he wants to know the plan, but he doesn't need to patronize me like this.

"Come on, Oliver. Can we trust her?" It's not that hard. Is she a trustworthy person? Just answer the question, durn it.

He stepped up to my side, watching her as well. "Generally speaking? No, we can't. She is a danger to us and anyone else connected to the company. As I understand it, she's heavily connected to the White Fang now."

Nothing I didn't already know. "So is Blake, and I trust her. You let her on the ship, so you obviously have some idea what I'm up to. Why don't you tell me what I'm up to?"

He shook his head, and I couldn't really tell what he was thinking. "Alright. For some reason, it seems you are turning on your father. I don't know if you're trying to collapse the company or take over it, and I don't know why, but if I had to guess I'd say it has something to do with that train crash your friend was in."

He's so good at sorting these things out. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't figured out why we're doing this. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the company yet, but you're right. You're aware that my father has made some... shady connections in his time as the head of the company?" He nodded, which is the least I could expect from him. "Well, I did some digging and found out that my father has been dealing under the table with the White Fang."

"Wouldn't that make someone connected with the White Fang even more dangerous?"

Those words caught me off guard. I hadn't thought about it that way. Here I was worried about what side Oliver would take when I should have been more concerned that Krista might be allied with my father. She could have easily played innocent and gotten her loving daughter to tell her our plan. I'd hate to think Blake could be tricked and manipulated so easily, but it is her mother we're talking about. Would Krista even want to betray Blake like that? Would she do it anyway?

I shook my head. "We'll be ready for it, but I'd rather not estrange Blake by flinging accusations around about her mother. Keep quiet about it, but do keep an eye on her. Come on, let's go in."

He obediently followed me down the path. We walked rather quietly, seeing all the others disappear through the front doors well before we got there. It wasn't until I was right at the door that it opened again, surprising me a little.

Coco stepped out and saw me. "There you are. We might have a little problem." She held the door open for me, then let go of it. Oliver caught it and entered behind me. Coco point up a ways. "Specifically, her."

Looking up, I followed Coco's finger with my eyes. I should have suspected. Sitting up on the banister overlooking the foyer, legs crossed and dangling in the air over us, is none other than my darling sister. I address her fondly, as any good sister would do. "Winter! Get down from there! It's not a climbing frame!"

Winter jeered down at me. It's no secret in our family that she doesn't like me. I'm the heiress, aren't I? And she isn't. What's not to hate. Oh, she keeps up appearances well enough around business people, but I think she can tell that these are my friends. I do not expect her to act proper around them.

Winter looked down at us all, surveying the crowd from above. "What's up, sis? Who are these people? What're you up to?"

I don't have the patience to deal with her right now. Might as well butter her up, though. "We're going to war with the company. You can help us or stay out of the way. Your choice. Either way, just so you know, I'm going to be a Huntress. That means you're going to have to be the one who takes charge after Dad is out of the picture."

She stared me down for a few moments before grinning. "Best news I've heard all day. Sign me up."

Great. Suddenly, Krista and Oliver are the least of my worries. Again, I'll treat it like I know I can trust her, but I will be keeping an eye on her. I don't want any betrayal here caused by not trusting someone. Anyway, that settles it. Winter is coming.

* * *

**Author's Note: Enter Winter Schnee. Now, let us think, how this might go now that she is in the mix. Also, Coco! ...Okay, yeah, this chapter was too short. It will be the shortest chapter in the story. I will make sure of it. Anyway, I'm glad to get going on this story again. I started off a bit too early before.**


	4. Letters From Taurus

My plan didn't include this.

It was the middle of the night when my father returned from work. That's a good thing, considering everyone was fast asleep and piled up in the guest rooms. Oliver met him in the foyer, and apparently my father somehow knew I was home. Oddly, he didn't ask to see me. Now, he's gone back to work, and Winter is in my room complaining about whatever dad wanted from her.

"And now I have about five hours to get a good night's rest before I have to be up again and on my way to the company headquarters! How am I supposed to be rested in five hours?"

Hoping she actually wanted me to answer, I offered my advice. "You might consider going to bed right away. What did you tell him that made him want you at the company headquarters?"

Winter leaned back against my door, looking down at the floor. "I... told him that you wanted me to have the company."

That's not good. "How'd he take it?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I thought he would want to hear it from you. Instead, he told me to meet him at seven in the morning. It's like he doesn't even care anymore."

I stood up and put my hand on my shoulder, thinking that perhaps I can mend what of a relationship I have with my sister. It would go a long way to keeping the company from continuing the way it's going once she's in charge if I can get on good terms with her. That she's talking to me about this now is a good sign, though she might just be a little extra excited because it looks like she actually will get to have the company.

"It's going to be fine. You can handle this. Don't mention our plan, and everything will go smoothly. Now, you had better go get that rest, or you'll be little help to anyone."

Putting my other hand on her other shoulder, I pulled her into a hug. It didn't last long, because I knew she needed rest. Breaking away, I opened the door and led her down the hall to her own room. Opening her door, I offered her one more piece of advice.

"Trust your instincts and remember, no matter what problems we've had in the past, I've always got your back. You can do this." As she quietly moved into her room, with me closing the door behind her, I couldn't help but think how much of a problem this was going to be. Now Winter could be used against me, if she was still at the headquarters when the operation began. The last thing I want is my sister being my father's hostage.

When I turned to head back to my room, I saw Krista guiding Blake down the hall towards me. Guiding, not pushing a wheelchair. She had one of Blake's arms over her shoulders and her other arm was wrapped around Blake. She was helping her walk. If nothing else could have, this is what made me trust Krista. I could see how she cared for her daughter in this moment, and I knew she wouldn't betray us. She wouldn't betray Blake.

My teammate looked up and saw me, though I could tell they both already knew I was there. Blake smiled at me. "What's going on?"

I stepped away from my sister's door, not wanting to disturb her while she was trying to sleep. I lowered my voice to answer Blake's question. "My father was here for a few minutes. He asked to see my sister, but not me. Winter says he wants her at a meeting at the company headquarters in a few hours. If we play our cards right, she could help us from the inside. I don't want her at risk, but she could be really helpful."

Krista shook her head. "If she's meeting with your father, she could end up more of a liability. Her in the same room as him is just a recipe for disaster. If she tries to fight him on her own… well, she's in for a world of pain."

I cocked my head towards Krista. "What about you? Why are you getting into this? Is this some sort of revenge against my father, or are you really just here to see Blake through?"

She looked down at Blake's leg before answering. "Blake feels very strongly about this, and I intend to help her. Right now, she needs to be able to walk, so that's what I'm helping her with."

That's good to know. "And what combat experience do you, Krista, have?"

Her face changed, all hints of motherly love and youthful humor suddenly gone from her. "You grow up in a place like where I did, your childhood is your combat experience. Blake understands a bit of what it was like. She hasn't really seen me in action, and I'm not too fond of fighting, but I can do pretty much any mission you send me on."

Accepting that, I turned to Blake. "So how long before you think you can walk on your own?"

Blake shrugged. "If we're moving in tomorrow, then I will be ready by tomorrow."

I shook my head. That wasn't good enough an answer for me. "We've got enough people coming along that I think we can handle it without you." I held up a finger to stop her before she could protest. "So I've figured out a way you can help without the risk of becoming a hindrance. We have enough people with us to be able to strike in several different places at once, and cover a lot more ground quicker. If we're doing that, we need a way to coordinate the mission and we need someone keeping tabs on everything happening."

Blake just looked confused at me, but Krista brightened up. "Surveillance. A camera room."

I nodded. "We'd have to get you there first, and that might mean some fighting for you, but with this many people we need someone watching everything. Think you're up for it?"

Blake grimaced, clearly not happy with the limited involvement. "I... alright."

Krista squeezed her in a side-hug. "You'll be watching everyone's backs all at once!"

I reached out and put my hand on Blake's shoulder. "Long story short, you're still injured. You're my friend, and I don't want to see you hurt any further. I know you want to help, and we could really use someone on surveillance, so I'm giving you this option. And it's not like they're just going to let you keep the camera room once you're in. You may well have to fight for it."

In the middle of my explanation, Oliver turned the corner and started walking towards us. He stopped beside Krista and held out a paper envelope. "Weiss, this just came in the mail."

Blake's ears perked up, and I took the envelope. I opened it quietly, then unfolded the paper inside. It was a letter, a short one, but it made me that much more confident about our mission. I may have smirked as I read it out loud to the three of them. I also may not have smirked.

_To the Schnee Heiress-_

_We know what you're planning, and we want in. We will be waiting near the front of the Schnee Dust Company Headquarters Complex. Meet us there at 8:00 AM, and we will assist in whatever plans you have. We are offering our service in exchange for an expected alteration in SDC policies regarding the Faunus your company employs. The removal of your father as CEO is required, unanimously, by all twelve members of our group. Meet these simple terms, and you will have our unswerving loyalty._

_Signed – Adam, Velvet, Jinto, Gabriel, Samantha, William, Nicholas, Dolly, Loon, Frank, Sarah, and Raven._

Blake staggered a bit. "They... I can't believe it."

Watching Blake's smile brighten like that, I'll be honest, was just great. I knew why she was happy, too. "Adam and Velvet are joining us, and they're dragging your sister into this as well."

Blake shook her head. "Yes, but Gabriel and Samantha are alive!"

True, those names were signed there as well... those were her friends we thought died in the train crash, weren't they? Then could that mean...? "Do you think the Sarah who signed here might be that Huntress that was on the train?"

Blake looked thoughtful. "It would be nice, but that is a fairly common name. Besides, I don't think anyone could have survived that..."

We let that rest there. If it was her, then congratulations to her for surviving being cut in half. If not, we'll survive. I looked to Oliver. "I'm curious to know about the other names here. Any clue who they are?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I don't work in intelligence. I'm a guard."

Eh... great, well, I trusting... who am I trusting here? I'm trusting Blake. That's why I am trusting the people who signed this letter. I trust them because Blake trusts some of them, and they in turn trust the rest. It all hinges on Blake, and I'm going to trust her.

We need to get some quick sleep before the mission starts. "We're waking up at six. Blake, you got surveillance?" Blake nodded. "Good. Krista, can I trust you with leading a team?" She saluted. "Alright, and Oliver, I'm going to need you to go in with Winter. Can you keep her safe?"

Oliver folded his arms over his chest. "You know me. I'll protect her with my life."

Well, I sure hope it doesn't come to that. "Okay. Get some rest now. We're going to need everyone bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we start."

Blake looked at me like I was an idiot. "Don't ever use that phrase again."

I shook my head at her. "Whatever, Blake. Just... just go to bed." I turned and headed for my bedroom, wondering and worrying about what tomorrow would bring. Winter better have her crap together.

* * *

**Author's Notes: New characters incoming! And yes. I'm getting Raven involved in this. "But where are Sun and Neptune, and Penny?" I hear you my hypothetical reader asking. Well, I don't want to go right out and start trying to write too many new characters at once, and unfortunately it seems Sun and Neptune have drawn the short stick. Together. Look on the bright side. We got Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox. We got Winter. We got Raven. And then my pile of OC's which are notoriously either evil or expendable. Next chapter will be the start of the true mission.**


	5. Preparations

The next morning, I found myself watching through binoculars as Oliver helped Winter out of the limosine. The walked in through the front gates and started walking towards the front of the building. I put the binoculars down and tapped the earpiece I was wearing.

"System check. Winter, if you can hear me, cough once." She coughed once. The connection was good. "Oliver, ask if she's okay."

Oliver's voice came over the radio. "_Are you okay, Miss Schnee?_"

Everyone had an earpiece, but only Blake was going to be able to hear everything. We didn't need the risk of anyone being distracted in the middle of a fight, and there would definitely be fighting, by whatever my sister was doing. Once Adam's group showed up, we would figure out the teams. I wasn't about to separate the teams from Beacon, so those would stay the same, but we'd have to work out what to do with everyone else. As it was, JNPR, CRDL, CFVY, and ZRCN would be working as units bolstered by Adam's group. RWBY would be taking Krista, and I planned to bring Jinto as well. Ideally, Adam would stay with Blake, of course, and Velvet would rejoin her team.

I heard Winter responding to Oliver's concern. "_Just something caught in my throat._"

Tapping my earpiece again, I addressed Oliver. "I'm switching off your channel now. You're talking to Blake after this. First, say 'Very well, then.' when you're going through the door."

Only two seconds later, I heard Oliver's voice again. "_Very well, then._"

I switched my radio to channel 2, turning to everyone else. They were waiting in the main foyer of the Schnee mansion, which was about twelve blocks away from the company headquarters facility entrance. The entire area is kind of my family's property. Standing up on a windowsill, I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention.

First, I tapped my earpiece again. "Blake, you there?"

Her voice came back immediately. "_Right with you, Weiss. You're on channel 2. Winter and Oliver are channel 1._"

I held my hand in place so she could listen in while I explained what we were doing. "Team RWBY is channel 2. Ruby, Yang, and Krista adjust your radios accordingly and check with Blake." I waited for them before moving on. "Team JNPR will be channel 3. CRDL, you're channel 5. CFVY, channel 6. ZRCN, channel 7. Everyone, check in with Blake."

Once they had all finished that, Cardin called up to me. "What about channel 4?"

That's actually a good question, and I answered as best as Krista and Oliver had explained it to me. "The Schnee Dust Company security forces operate on channel 4. They monitor all channels regularly, but Krista hacked into the security mainframe and blocked out all except channel 4. If they try listening in on the other channels, they'll just get copies of channel 4. They might be able to figure out how to get around that eventually, but it'll buy us enough time to get in and do some real damage."

Jaune raised his hand. I rolled my eyes, but let him speak. He sounded a bit nervous, but at least he was trying to participate. "So, uh, then we should go after the monitoring stations first, right?"

I hopped down from the window, pointing to him. "Exactly right. There are three monitoring stations in the main building, and one more in each of the other buildings. There are nine buildings, so you do the math."

Yang looked thoughtful. "It wouldn't be worth it to try and take them all out first."

Again, good point. I nodded to Yang. "Only three buildings are of interest to us right now. The main building, at the front. The hangar, near the back. And the building behind the hangar. The only reason to go through the hangar is to get to the other building."

Coco crossed her arms. "A building behind the hangar... why?"

"Well, that's what we want to find out." Krista stepped forward to explain. "The tenth building is hidden from public view, and appears to be very small in comparison. While I was getting us the floorplans for the facility, I noticed that that building has a security point inside, as well as an armored door and an elevator. The mainframe has no information on whatever is at the bottom of the elevator, so Weiss insisted we go find out."

The leader of ZRCN, a short-haired girl named Zaki, raised her hand. "You just finished saying there were nine buildings."

Right I did... whoops. I backtracked. "The tenth building may or may not have a monitoring station. All we know about is the security checkpoint and the door. There could be anything at the bottom of that elevator."

Nora piped up. "Anything at all? Even mountains and mountains of pancakes?!"

If we could only be so lucky. "That would be nice, but I doubt it. My bet is on some sort of nefarious giant robot suit thing."

Nora seemed to take that surprisingly well. "Those are fun too."

Ren, standing beside Nora, spoke up next. "Giant robot suit? That's oddly specific."

Yeah, well, it's also entirely impractical. There's no way there really is a production facility for mechs under that building. "It was the other extreme to Nora's pancakes, so you'll forgive me." Although, now I'm worried...

Ruby pulled us back to the point. "Alright, so... which teams are going where?"

Because that question led right into the next part of the briefing, I treated it like it was something me and Ruby had rehearsed. "Teams RWBY and JNPR will be entering the main building, with assistance from Adam's group if our meeting goes well. The rest will fight through the hangar and secure the tenth building. If all goes well, I'll be able to get some information out of my father regarding what is at the bottom of that elevator. If not, you hold that position until we can all go down there together."

Pyrrha offered the next part. "We still need to meet up with Adam's group. That's the first thing we need to do."

I pointed to Pyrrha. "You're right, and that's what we're doing next. Out of everyone we could send to meet up with them, I've selected Coco because Velvet will be there and there won't be a risk of them missing her or mistaking her for an enemy. If something does go wrong, Coco is also formidable enough to fight her way back."

Coco smirked. "What could go wrong?"

I won't bore you with the details, but we quickly went over what Coco was supposed to do when meeting with these people. Remember, even at the most optimistic, we collectively know anything about half of these people. She had to make sure not to do anything insulting or offensive towards any of them. From what I know from Blake, Gabriel and Samantha are pretty serious about hating Humans. Jinto and Adam seem like particularly angry people, made all the more dangerous by being very good at what they do. I can't imagine Coco has to worry about Velvet, and Carl claims his sister is normally a very rational and calm person. The other six I'm really worried about, though.

We sent Coco off, and I climbed back up to the windowsill to watch her go. I kept a close eye on her through my binoculars. Given that they were meeting right across the street from the Schnee Dust Company's front gate, I would have expected a Human representative of the group to show up. Instead, it looked like Velvet had been picked. Probably a smart move on their part, all things considered. Coco would know immediately who she was dealing with, and Velvet was trustworthy.

Blake's voice came through my earpiece. "_Weiss, we have a problem. Coco's talking to Velvet, and apparently half of their group already went in last night, and they haven't heard back yet. Mostly those names we didn't recognize, but Sarah went in. And it is apparently Carl's sister. Nothing yet on how she's alive._"

Putting my finger to my ear, I responded knowing full well that everyone else could hear me. "I got you. Who do we still have?" But it sounded like she had cut the channels to everyone else. I was the only one who could hear her.

"_Well, Velvet, obviously. Adam, Gabriel, Samantha, Jinto. Thank God. And one of the others. Velvet's guided Coco back to where they set up camp._" It was true. I couldn't see them anymore. "_The one that signed Loon. Coco's impression, as well as Velvet's, seems to be that she's a weird Human girl. Four of the others were apparently her siblings. Still nothing on Raven. And Coco just called me 'Mission Control'._"

"Okay, well, we need to get moving. Tell Coco to run them through the plan. I'm improvising here, so I need their feedback on this, but I'm saying Adam runs with RWBY, Gabriel with CFVY, Samantha with ZRCN, Loon with CRDL, and Jinto with JNPR. Run that past them."

Enough time passed for Blake to relay the plan to Coco, her to relay it to them, and them to give their answer. Then Blake came back. "_They're going with it. Loon's a bit worried about being stuck with a bunch of guys, and Velvet's lying about how nice they are. Now Coco's asking how the others got in last night... they have an entrance._"

* * *

**Author's notes: Finally back after my computer died, and here I have for you another chapter of The Strange Case Of Weiss Schnee. This is the half-way point, so the next chapter is, of course, the beginning of the action. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next time.**


End file.
